Representative Wendell Howes Meade

Wendell Howes Meade (January 18, 1912 – June 2, 1986) was an American attorney and Republican politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky’s 7th Congressional District during the Eightieth Congress, from January 3, 1947, to January 3, 1949. Over the course of a varied career in law, military service, elective office, and public administration, he represented the interests of his Kentucky constituents and held several significant state and federal appointments.

Meade was born in Paintsville, Johnson County, Kentucky, on January 18, 1912. He attended the Kentucky Military Institute in Lyndon, Kentucky, where he completed his high school education, an experience that provided him with early exposure to discipline and leadership. He went on to attend Western State Teachers College in Bowling Green (now Western Kentucky University) from 1930 to 1933. After leaving Western State Teachers College, Meade entered the banking business, working in that field from 1933 to 1936, which gave him practical experience in finance and local economic affairs.

Pursuing a legal career, Meade enrolled in the University of Louisville School of Law, from which he graduated in 1939. That same year he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in his hometown of Paintsville. As a practicing attorney, he became a recognized figure in the local legal community, building the professional and civic profile that would later support his entry into elective politics.

During World War II, Meade entered military service, joining the United States Navy. He served as a lieutenant from November 1943 until January 1946. His naval service coincided with the later years of the global conflict, and his experience as a commissioned officer contributed to his public standing and informed his perspective on national defense and veterans’ issues in the immediate postwar period.

Following his return from military service, Meade resumed his legal practice in Paintsville and soon sought elective office. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky’s 7th Congressional District as part of the Eightieth Congress, serving from January 3, 1947, to January 3, 1949. His tenure in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, marked by postwar economic adjustment, the early Cold War, and debates over domestic policy and international engagement. As a member of the House of Representatives, Meade participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his constituents in eastern Kentucky. He served one term before being unseated in the 1948 election by Democrat Carl D. Perkins.

After leaving Congress, Meade remained active in Republican politics in Kentucky. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1951, reflecting his continued ambition for statewide office. He later sought to return to Congress and entered a six-candidate Republican primary for Kentucky’s 8th Congressional District, held on August 7, 1954, but was again unsuccessful. Despite these electoral defeats, he continued to play a role in public life through appointed positions.

Meade went on to hold several important administrative posts at both the federal and state levels. From 1957 to 1961, he served as zone operations commissioner for the Federal Housing Administration, where he was involved in the administration of federal housing programs during a period of substantial growth in homeownership and suburban development. Returning to state service later in his career, he was appointed Kentucky’s commissioner of personnel in 1968, a position he held until February 1969. He then served as a member of the Kentucky Workman’s Compensation Board from 1969 to 1970, participating in the adjudication and oversight of claims related to workplace injuries and labor protections.

In his later years, Meade resided in Richmond, Kentucky, while maintaining his longstanding ties to the eastern Kentucky region where he had begun his legal and political career. Wendell Howes Meade died in Lexington, Kentucky, on June 2, 1986, closing a life marked by service as an attorney, naval officer, congressman, and public administrator.